Collapsible crate



June 8 1,587,71 l C. FLAGSTAD ET AL coLLAPsBLE CRATE Filed July 2,5. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jun 8', 1926. 1,587,711

c. FLAGSTAD AL GOLLAPS IBLE CRATE Filed July 25, 1924 2 shams-sheet 2 www, v

akkozueq Patented June 8, 1926,

i UNITE@ sra as rarest orifice.

COLLAYSBLE CRATE.

Application mea July a5, 1924. Serin No. 728,143.

This invention relatesto collapsible crates, and the main object is to provide an improved, efficient and practical crate construc tion adapted to beused for shipping poultry, machinery, furniture7 and commodities' of practically every description, and which, when emptied of its contents may be conveniently and compactly collapsed for return shipment to the original shipper, and thus effect a great savings in crating material by enabling the shipper to use the same crate a large number of times, and, by reason of certain features which enables the crate to be compactly collapsed or knocked down, to minimize the space required in a freight car or other vehicle in order to return the empty crate. A further object is to provide novel means for arranging, connecting and detachably securing various crate sections together as and when the crate is being set up ready for use. These and a number of other objects, which will be fully described in the course of the following specification, are affected by the structure which is shown, vin preferred and modified forms, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a crate embodying our invention.

' Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the detachable cover,as removed from the crate.

Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2, and showing-an adjacent end section portion.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section as on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2. i

Fig. l5 is an venlarged sectional view, about as on the line 5-5 in Fig. 1. i

Fig. 6 is an end view of the crate showing various modifications over the crate shown in FigQl. f

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional elevation in part as on the line 7-7 inV Fig. 6, illustrat ing the method of attaching theend section.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section as on the line 8@ in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fractional detail of an end section corner.v

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view, as on a line 104-10 in Fig. G, showing a modi* lied locking member.

' Fig. 11 is an end viewl of a crate showing further modifications.

Fig.y 12 is an end view ofthecrate shown.

in Fig. 11, as locked in its collapsed condition.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged detail section as seen on the line 13-13 in Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings more particularly and by reference characters, A and B designate the side sections of a crate, which is completed by end sections G and D, a base orbottom section E, and a top `or, cover secf" tion F. y

Each of the side sections A, B, consists ofl outer slats 15, 16 and 17, secured together by a-'frame consisting of horizontal.

rails 1.8 and 19, and vertical end rails 20 and`V 21. Thedetachable end sections C, Dea-ch consist ofhorizontal slats 22 and 23, connected by vertical slats 24 and 25, and suitably truss-ed by braces 26. Theends vof the slats v.

22 are provided with angularly formed male locking irons 27, which are detachably locked or inserted in female locking irons 28 on the side sections, by atilting or swinging movement of the end section (as .shown` in Fig. 7), so that the devices 27-28 cannot be unlocked when the respective end sections are in a vertical or set .up position. The members 28 are preferably formed of heavy strap orslieet metal, and extend over the` corner edge and to the under slat18 so as to greatly strengthen the side section.

At the upper corners of the 'crate it will be noted that the slats 17 project slightly beyond the slats 20, as at 29; while the ends of the slats 23 (of the end section) abut against and extend beyond the end rails 20 (of the side section) to engage, for bracing purposes,.under the projecting end 29 of the slats 17. The ends of the rails 23 are also provided with angle iron members 30,-which, as the upper ends of the end sections are swung into place. engageagainst the outer edges of the rails 2O and thus securely brace and prevent any spreading tendency of the side sections, when the crate is setup. The locking members 27-28, of course, have the saine object at the lower corners of the crate, so that the adjacent ends of the 'side and end sections will be securely, yet detachably, secured together in a very rigid manner.

The upper Vends of the end sections are locked in place by angle irons or depending hooks 31 of the cover section, which will now be described.

. minutes time` 4dotted lines145 in Fig. 2.

`vdotted lines 46 *place at a time, until The cover F consists of tion or member 32, having cleats 33 at its ends, Vwhich are spanned by three slats 34, 35 and 36 so as to form a limited space between the slats and the member 32. A pair of levers 38 and 39 are secured for swing ing movement in said space, and are rcspe'cf tively pivoted as at 4() and 41 to the slats 34 and 36. A locking member 42, having a finger groove 43, is secured by spring hinges 44 to the slat 35, in such a manner that it Vwill normally engage between the longer ends of the levers 38, 39, and hold them apart, but when. lifted up will permit the levers to be swung in, as indicated by the When in the dotted line position 45 the ends of the levers will not project beyond the outer limits of the cover, which can then be moved down into place between theinembers 19 ont the side sections. The ends of the @over extend far enough out so that they will rest on the end sections C, D, and 'so that the hooks 31 will properly engage the slats Now, when the levers 38, 39 are-to be moved into parallel or transverse positions so that their ends will lock` under the side section members 19 they will be moved through the position, for instance, as indicatedrby the (for lever This, in viewV 'ofthe fact that the levers have comparatively short and long ends from their fulcrums, causes the short ends to project beyond the cover for locking engagement before 'the long ends do. This is a very valuable feature in some classes of crates, for instance where the contents or packing material in 'the crate must be pressed down by the cover, as it permits one corner of the cover to be pressed down and locked in all fourr levers or lever ends are swung into place, where they are then held iny place by levers may even be swung beyond this point, but will not go far' enough to be released from their lookin@- position. 4

The bottom section E of the crate, shown in Fig. 1 is detachable, and consists of transversely crossed slats 47 and 48, the ends of the latter of which are supported on the bottom pieces 18 of the sideA sections. VThe crate may be used, under certain circumstances, without the bottom E, in which event the machine,fpiece of furniture or other article would have to be supported either on the members 18 or in some other Vsuitable manner, as, for instance, by temporary cross braces secured tothe side or end sections. In either event the crate could be relieved of its contents very simple manner and in `but a few and without lifting such contents bodily out of the crate. Thus, the cover would first be detached, then the end sect-ions might be pulled 0r moved away,

a main body p0r- Vthe member 42. The

and collapsed in a after whichthe side sections could be readily removed. Y If a bottom has been used the machine or other article may be jacked up so that the bottom section may be pulled out, and placed, together' with the cover and end sections, in the side sect-ions, which are then secured together, 'for returnV shipment, as will later be described.

, In the crate shown in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9, the various crate sections A1, B1, C1, 71, and F l, 'are substantially the same as the corresponding sections shown in the crate of Fig. 1, except for thefollowing .modifi- @t-ione I y Each end section (Cliis provided with the'ab'ove described securing member 27 at its lower corners, for engagement with the:A

locks the in 51 in a slot in the latchmem- P ber, so that the upper yend of the end section will be securely locked i'n place 0r setup position whether or not the hooks 31 ot the top sect-ion are employed.l The primary object ofthe latch 51-;53, hown ever, is to holdthe end sections in place while the crate is being filled or packed, when the cover F1l is off, which, it may be noted, 'would not be 'affected by the structure shown in Fig. 1.

A further improvement er advantage of the crate shown in Fig. 6 is the method by which the removable bottoni E1 is secured in place by the end sections. Thus the base section is provided with strips 55, which are engaged and pressed firmly downwardly by suitable members 56 secured on the lower ends of the end sections. Thus, the bottom will be rigidly secured in the crate, and if 'a heavy article, sneh as a stove, indieated by 57, is bolted, as at 58, to the bottom, it also 'will be rigidlyseeuredin the crate, and in that event it may even be 'possible to dispense with the cover section entirely.

In the modification shown in Fig. 10, a single iron 59, having an integral offset portion 60 is received by the slot 61 of the end section member 49. Such iron would obviously tend to brace the sections-rigidly together, when set up, but would require that other means (such as 30, 31, or 51, 53, or 62%65) be also nsedto prevent the side and end sections from falling away from each other.

Turning now to the crate shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13, the various crate sections will be referred to as A, B3, C3, E8, and F3. The object of this construction is to illustrate novel devices for securing the side and end sections together, when the crate is set up (as in Fig. 11), and which will also lock the side sections together when the crate is collapsed, as illustrated in Fig. 12. Thus the section B3 is provided (near each end) with a pair of hooks 62, which engage loops 63, at one side ot the adjacent end section C3, and the opposite side of the end section is provided with hooks 64 which are ar ranged to engage loops 65 of the side section A3. So that a downward movement of the end section will secure it to both side sections. The hooks and loops are so arranged with respect to each other, that when the crate is collapsed (as in Fig. 12) and the top bottom and end sections are contained within the side sections, the latter two may be moved into locking engagement by the hooks 62 and loops 65.

A lock, which may also of course be used on any of the other crates shown, is provided in the form of a latch member 66, which may be identical in construction with the latch 53, having a finger bolt 67 and a re ceiving slot 68. A bail 69 is pivotally secured, as at 70, to the side section A3, and is arranged to drop in the slot 68, when the side sections are together, so as to securely lock them together until the crate is to be again set up.

It is understood that various and suitable modifications may be made in the general design and structural details of the crate construction herein set forth, provided, how ever, that such modifications come Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having now therefore fully shown and described our invention, what we claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a crate having a detachable cover for closing the same, of a pair of levers pivotally secured near diagonally opposed corners of the cover, said levers having short arms for initial engagement with the crate and relatively long arms for secondary engagement with the crate, means for limiting the outward swinging movement of the long arms and a locking member for releasably limiting the inward movement of the long arms.

2. The combination with a crate having a detachable cover for closing the same, of a pair of levers pivotally secured near diagonally opposed corners of the cover, said lvers having short arms for initial engagement with the crate and relatively long arms ior secondary engagement with the crate, and a movable spring actuated member ar ranged to engage the levers and secure then in locked position with respect to the crate.

In testimony whereof we atix our signatures.

CORNELL FLAGSTAD. OSCAR A. FLAGSTAD. 

